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Virtual Desktop - VMware Horizon

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is a technology that hosts a desktop operating system on a centralised server in a data centre. The VMware Horizon Client provides access to this environment from multiple devices.

Web Browsers

Chrome and Firefox Settings are saved to your P drive.

Document Redirection

Documents saved in the following VDI locations will be redirected and saved in the relevant folder on your P drive. It is important that documents are saved in one of these locations or directly to the P or S drive to avoid loss of work.

VDI location

Redirected location

Desktop

P:\Desktop

Documents

P:\Documents

Downloads

P:\Downloads

Favorites

P:\Favorites

Links

P:\Links

Music

P:\Music

Pictures

P:\Pictures

Searches

P:\Searches

Videos

P:\Videos

Note: Documents saved in any other location will be lost.

VDI machines are refreshed/re-imaged regularly. As a result, work saved in any location other than those listed above will be deleted.

How do I use the VMware Horizon Client on a mobile device?

VMware Client Radial Menu and Tools

VMware has created user interaction aids to help you navigate conventional Windows user interface elements on a non-Windows device. Tap the radial menu button (shown below left) to expand the menu and display icons for each tool. Tap outside the icons to collapse the icons back into the sphere.

Icon

Description

Horizon Client Radial Menu

Disconnect Note: We recommend that you Sign out instead of Disconnecting.

Onscreen Keyboard (toggles to show or hide)

Settings

Navigation

Virtual Touchpad

Gesture Help

Onscreen Keyboard

The onscreen keyboard in a View desktop has more keys than the standard onscreen keyboard. For example, Control keys and function keys are available. To display the onscreen keyboard, tap the screen with three fingers at the same time or tap the Keyboard button.

Note: To use the three-finger tap, make sure the iOS accessibility feature for zooming is turned off. When the zoom accessibility feature is turned on, you zoom by double-tapping with three fingers, and tapping once with three fingers does nothing.

Even if you use an external keyboard, a one-row onscreen keyboard may still appear which contains function keys, and the Ctrl, Alt, Win, and arrow keys. Some external keyboards do not have all these keys.

Navigation Keys

Tap the Ctrl/Page icon in the View Client interface tools or onscreen keyboard to display the navigation keys. These keys include Page Up, Page Down, arrow keys, function keys, and other keys, such as Alt, Del, Shift, Ctrl, Win, and Esc. You can press and hold arrow keys for continuous key strokes.

Use the Shift key on this keypad when you need to use key combinations that include the Shift key, such as Ctrl+Shift. To tap a combination of these keys, such as Ctrl+Alt+Del, first tap the onscreen Ctrl key. After the Ctrl key turns blue, tap the onscreen Alt key. After the Alt key turns blue, tap the Del key.

Onscreen Touchpad and Full Screen Touchpad

The virtual touchpad can be either regular-size, to resemble a touchpad on a laptop computer, or full screen, so that the entire device screen is a touchpad.

When you tap the touchpad icon, you can touch anywhere on the screen to move the mouse pointer. The screen becomes a full screen touchpad. To change the default, so that the virtual touchpad resembles the touchpad on a laptop, including right- and left-click buttons, use the View Client interface tools to display the general settings or options and turn the Full screentouchpad control off.

Moving your finger around the touchpad creates a mouse pointer that moves around the View desktop. You can use the regular-size and full screen virtual touchpad for single-clicking and double-clicking. The regular touchpad also contains left-click and right-click buttons. To simulate holding down the left-click button while dragging:

iOS - double-tap with one finger and then drag. To enable this feature, use the View Client tools to display the Options dialog box, and click to toggle the Touchpad Tap & Drag option to On.

Android – tap and hold one finger until you see a pulse and then drag

You can tap with two fingers and then drag to scroll vertically. You can drag the regular-size virtual touchpad to the side of the device so that you can use your thumb to operate the touchpad while you are holding the device.

To adjust how quickly the pointer moves when you use the touchpad, tap the View Client Tools icon and tap the settings icon to display the Options dialog box, and drag the slider in the Touchpad Sensitivity option.

Clicking

As in other applications, you tap to click a user interface element. In a View desktop, if you tap and hold for a second, a magnifying glass appears, along with a mouse pointer, for precise placement. This feature is especially helpful when you want to resize a window.

Right-Clicking

Use the View Client interface tools to display the regular virtual touchpad and use the touchpad's right-click button. Tap with two fingers at nearly the same time. The right-click occurs where the first finger tapped.

Scrolling and Scrollbars

On the screen, tap with two fingers and then drag to scroll. The text under your fingers moves in the same direction as your fingers.

Use the View Client interface tools to display the touchpad, tap the touchpad with two fingers, and then drag to scroll. Use the onscreen touchpad to move the mouse pointer and click scroll bars.

Zooming In and Out

Pinch your fingers together or apart to zoom.

Window Resizing

If you use the full screen touchpad to resize a window, touch and hold one finger at the corner or side of the window and drag to resize, or double-tap with one finger and then drag.

If you use the regular-size virtual touchpad, to simulate holding down the left-click button while dragging the corner or side of a window.

How do I use multiple monitors with VDI?

When connecting to Virtual Desktop using the Horizon View client you can use two monitors with a resolution up to 2560x1600 pixels for each monitor. Monitors may be used in Landscape or Portrait orientation.

Configure multiple monitors on Windows

Launch and login with the VMware Horizon Client

Click the Settings iconNote: If you do not have a settings icon please update your Horizon View client

Select the Desktop for configuration and set Display to All MonitorsAn image of all monitors available for use is displayed

Click on each of the monitors you would like to use (up to two) so they change colour to green

Click OK - connections to this Desktop will now use the monitors selected

Configure multiple monitors on MacOS

Launch and login with the VMware Horizon Client

Click the Settings iconNote: If you do not have a settings icon please update your Horizon View client

Select the Desktop for configuration and set Full Screen Use Selective Displays. An image of all monitors available for use is displayed

Click on each of the monitors you would like to use (up to two) so they change colour to blue with a tick in the top right corner

Close the window - connections to this Desktop will now use the monitors selected

How do I enable ClearType Text in VDI?

Use this feature if you are finding that the text displayed inside VDI is blurry or difficult to read.

The setting is saved inside VDI and you won’t have to apply it again next time you log in, unless your VDI profile has been rebuilt to fix other issues.

Note: If you use VDI on a number of different devices, the text can look different between these devices after applying the ClearType setting - this is because the setting is dependent on the monitor/screen being used.

To enable ClearType Text:

Login to VDI

Open the ClearType Text Tuner from the icon on the desktop

Click the Turn on ClearType tick box then click Next

Run through the steps of selecting from the text boxes the text that looks clearer, then click Next - it asks you to do this five times

If using multiple monitors for VDI you will be prompted to perform these steps for each monitor

Click Finish to apply the settings - ClearType Text setting has been enabled